text: Demand for oversight of sites such as JustGiving follows doubts over pages launched after Westminster attack
  It has become a familiar moment in the aftermath of any catastrophe – the appearance of a slew of online fundraising pages designed to funnel donations for the traumatised, injured and bereaved.
  But after doubts were raised over some JustGiving pages launched in the aftermath of the Westminster attack, government ministers have been urged to impose regulation – or face a growing risk of unscrupulous fraudsters taking advantage of tragedy.
  David Clarke, the former director of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, said fundraising sites must do more to protect users. Clarke said: “Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to steal and launder dirty money and we must ensure this vital service for good is not open to abuse by criminals. Government must act quickly and decisively to protect the goodwill of our charitable citizens.”
  The call for regulatory oversight comes after JustGiving took the unprecedented step of seizing control of a page that had raised £17,000 ostensibly set up in memory of Westminster victim Aysha Frade after donors noticed that the person who set up the page had the same name as a woman convicted of fraud.
  About a dozen pages raising money for the victims’ families remain active on JustGiving, having raised close to £8,000 in total.
  One of the pages was removed following concerns reported to JustGiving that it had used plagiarised text and was claiming to raise money for the UK charity HHUGS, which told the Guardian it had no connection to the page.
  A JustGiving spokesman said there was “no way the page could be fraudulent” because any money raised would have gone to the charity, rather than the individual who had set up the page. The site has said it would quarantine all money raised for the Westminster victims to ensure it reaches the intended beneficiaries.
  In a separate case last week, a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of fraud over a GoFundMe page that raised more than £20,000 following a petition to keep a police dog with its handler in Shropshire.
  Concerns were raised when someone purporting to be a freelance journalist named Jacob Windsor set up a fundraising page linking it to a Change.org petition set up by Jennie Evans, the daughter of retiring police officer David Evans.
  The petition attracted more than 140,000 signatures and was supported by Angie Best, the ex-wife of George Best.
  Anti-fraud experts have warned that scammers are increasingly finding it easy to exploit the rise in online giving on fundraising sites, which contribute significantly to the more than £2.4bn donated online annually in the UK.
  But despite the growing popularity of sites such as JustGiving and GoFundMe, they do not face the same regulatory oversight as other charitable organisations.
  The obvious body to oversee the sites would be the fundraising regulator, set up two years ago and chaired by the veteran television executive Michael Grade.
  Yet a spokesman told the Guardian it was “not clear that commercial crowdfunding or giving platforms (which are commercial operations) fall within our remit which is first and foremost about fundraising by charities”.
  The spokesman added that the regulator would assess whether JustGiving falls within its remit before deciding whether to investigate the fraud concerns following the Westminster attack.
  There are concerns that social media has amplified the risk of cyber-fraud, particularly in cases when celebrities promote causes to their vast audience of followers.
  A family run charity backed with millions of pounds by One Direction had its accounts frozen last week amid a Charity Commission and Metropolitan police investigation into the alleged misuse of funds.
  Believe in Magic, co-founded by a mother and daughter after the daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumour, is being investigated following “multiple complaints” and “indications of misconduct or mismanagement”.
  One Direction’s stars had been ambassadors for the charity, which had also reportedly received support from celebrities including Jessie J, Olly Murs, Pixie Lott, Little Mix, Professor Green, Fearne Cotton and Michael Bublé.
  Clarke, the former head of the City of London police fraud squad and now director of the Fraud Advisory Panel, said it was surprising that fundraising sites fell outside the remit of the fundraising regulator.
  He urged sites such as JustGiving to use sophisticated technology such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to combat fraud instead of relying on users to spot suspicious activity.
  Clarke said: “I think we should be having more oversight and checking that they are implementing adequate counter-fraud procedures. If they are, then fine but we’ve got to have the oversight that they have adequate procedures to counter fraud.
  “Are they doing that? It would appear that if we’re relying on users to report things being wrong, that’s not the use of big data analytics.”
  A spokesman for JustGiving said the site was reviewing how it verifies fundraising pages in “moments of national crisis” following the concerns raised over the Westminster attack.
  He added: “JustGiving has worked hard to ensure that all funds raised for the victims of the Westminster attacks reach the families, we are continuing to do so. While we have strong verification checks to ensure that people are who they say they are, we can’t verify people’s intentions.
  “We rely on our community to raise any concerns they might have with our team who then have a clear investigation process.”
  A spokesman for GoFundMe said misuse made up “less than one tenth of 1%” of all campaigns on the site. He said the site had “a number of layers of protection” and would soon offer a guarantee that donations reach the intended beneficiary or donors get their money back.
  He added: “We have a team of experts across the world working round the clock to make sure donors, campaign organisers and beneficiaries are fully protected, bespoke technology monitoring for suspicious behaviour and over 25 million donors.
  “When they see something they think might not be right, they tell us and our team looks into it and takes swift action.”